Nike to China on fingering anonymous blogger: Just Do It

Conspiracy theories are a hallmark of the Internet, but not all companies …

Nike has decided to put the Chinese government's finely-tuned dissident-hunting skills to work in order to turn up an anonymous conspiracy theorist who posted a "false accusation" about the company. Nike apparently believes that its reputation is at stake thanks to a singular poster on the Internet, and it is determined to protect its brand by making a series of PR moves that aren't going down so well outside of China.

It all started when Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang unexpectedly withdrew from the preliminary heats in this year's Olympic Games. At the time, Liu claimed that he was having problems with his ankle and therefore couldn't compete. The decision upset many of Liu's fans in China who were counting on him to make the country proud, but it also piqued the curiosity of some who believed that Liu was doing just fine before the heats. Reports then surfaced about Liu kicking an iron door "very hard" immediately before declaring himself injured and pulling out of the race, as reported by The Epoch Times.

Nike, Liu's sponsor, reacted to Liu's decision just as one might expect an American company to react. The company turned it into an advertisement by running ads in China's newspapers with Liu's face and the words "Love competition. Love risking your pride. Love winning it back. Love giving it everything you've got. Love the glory. Love the pain. Love sport even when it breaks your heart." Ahh, capitalism.

It was about this time when the conspiracy theorists began coming out of the woodwork. The timing of all these events seemed suspicious, and it seemed to work out all-too-well for Nike.

An individual claiming to be involved with Nike then posted on a Yahoo message board that the company had actually asked Liu to pull out of the race since he wouldn't win anyway and so that Nike could continue to capitalize on his image. Sounds standard for your anonymous tinfoil-hat-wearer on the Internet, right?

Not for Nike, apparently. The company reacted poorly to the accusation instead of simply ignoring it. "We have immediately asked relevant government departments to investigate those that started the rumour," Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks told The Guardian.

Brooks defended the company's decision to make use of China's strict Internet monitoring policies in order to identify the poster. "We want to act to protect our brand reputation in the same way as any corporation would want to if people were posting or writing false accusations," he said. "This isn't about a debate on freedom of speech. It's simply helping us to identify the person who posted it."

Nike isn't backing down, but it has decided to stay mum on any further questions about its involvement with the Chinese government.